Shortly after President Nixon created the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970 by Executive Order, a photo-documentary project called “Project Documerica” was created to “record the state of the environment and efforts to improve it.”

Much like the famous Farm Security Administration photos documented life during the depression, the Project Documerica photos concentrated on “environmental concerns of the early 1970s: water, air, and noise pollution; unchecked urbanization; poverty; environmental impact on public health; and youth culture of the day.” The project also documented the U.S.’s efforts to solve these environmental challenges.

Read more and see some of the photos at:   http://fortune.com/2017/02/28/how-the-united-states-looked-before-the-epa/